Journal Of Alternative And Complementary Medicine, The

Provides resources for conducting research in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). There are now five on-campus labs dedicated to this research, and pain studies account for a third of the center’s $124 million budget. An example is using acupuncture to help with side effects of cancer treatment. Now we know that even very high doses of saw palmetto make absolutely no difference,” said study author Gerald Andriole.

Spicy debate: RMIT is researching the effectiveness of ginseng in improving lung function in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Trying practices like meditation and breathing can’t do any harm, but other CAM techniques may have consequences for people with certain health conditions.

Use of alternative medicine alone to treat cancer is likely to be a death sentence, or at least to cause delays that make ultimate cancer treatment with conventional medicine more difficult and less likely to be successful. The old way of combating chronic disease hasn’t worked,” Cosgrove wrote in a column posted on the hospital’s website.

Some thought the NCCAM’s work was too far outside the mainstream. The important thing about practicing in an academic center is that we must hold ourselves to certain standards,” said Estores, the medical director at the University of Florida’s integrative medicine clinic.